Bootlegs: Buyers Beware! What to Look for and such

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      Anonymous
      Guest

      peruano99 wrote:

      by the way why did most tenchi dvds ran out of print?

      Because Pioneer/Geneon never made big print runs of there shows (unlike FUNimation who prints there shows a million times in too many different variations)

      Also, Geneon left the R1 Market in 2007, because of that, their production for shows stopped, thats why all of their stuff is ridiculously priced and Out of print, because there weren’t millions of copies made and new ones may not be made in the near future

      Anonymous
      Guest

      peruano99 wrote:

      Dagon123 wrote:

      peruano99 wrote:

      by the way why did most tenchi dvds ran out of print?

      Because Pioneer/Geneon never made big print runs of there shows (unlike FUNimation who prints there shows a million times in too many different variations)

      Also, Geneon left the R1 Market in 2007, because of that, their production for shows stopped, thats why all of their stuff is ridiculously priced and Out of print, because there weren’t millions of copies made and new ones may not be made in the near future

      how does the brick pack for the universe look like? and I just bought the Geneon one for my cousin for 60 dollars.. is that all right for the series?

      The Geneon one is the brick pack, might I ask where you are finding these deals?

      http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q262/Dagon123/61phfMuG-AL.jpg" />

      jgzinv
      Member
      Seems good to bring this guide out of mothballs – http://www.otakunews.com/piratefaq.php

      There’s a handful of Dual bootlegs out there too, mostly of the JP and US DVD releases.

      Both individuals and box set bootlegs, but the latter are far more common. They typically use

      the image from the Graphic Data File for the front cover, or an image of D from DVD 3 on the bootlegs.

      Officially:

      1 Box set and 4 DVDs for US.

      Around 6 DVDs, 4 box sets at least, two LD box sets, and a set of VHS tapes.

      There’s even a official spanish box set, far as I know, it had a red cover with the core robot hartzenen on it.

      2 OSTs and a CD Single

      1 CD-ROM Desktop Accessory that never made it to retailers.

      Azumanga 2 CD-ROM and book set

      Various books and other stuff that’s not “bootlegable”…

      Bootleg wise…

      Both OSTs have been bootleg’d for a long time. Son May and Ever Anime are common labels. The CD cover

      looks off color and the discs and booklets are different inside. These don’t pop up as much, but they still

      come up on eBay and on certain online retailers. GKworld out of New York used to have thousands of bootleg

      discs for sale, I reported them to the FBI years ago but it seems they are still in business.

      There’s roughly 3 DVD sets that are bootleg. The individual DVD bootlegs are quite hard to find unless you’re in a bootleg store.

      The first set I bought was a bootleg..wasn’t even a clever one..just a big thick black clamshell box with all the discs in plastic sleeves. I just didn’t know any better at the time..but I learned quickly thanks to forum topics on the subject like this one.
      I have the complete Dual R 1 set.For the record the covers for each have the following:

      1.Mitsuki Sanada

      2.D

      3.Mitsuki Rara

      4.Kazuki

      Wonder why they used Kazuki for #4 instead of Yayoi.

      mitsuki lover wrote:

      I have the complete Dual R 1 set.For the record the covers for each have the following:

      1.Mitsuki Sanada

      2.D

      3.Mitsuki Rara

      4.Kazuki

      Wonder why they used Kazuki for #4 instead of Yayoi.

      I just bought the complete set myself via eBay.

      Well she is in an interior at least.. no clue why not the cover though. :?

      The recipes inside each case were a bit odd.. 😆

      I was wondering because the three other covers had the other three girls on them,and then four has for some odd reason

      Kazuki.I know he’s the hero of the series,but still when three of the covers have three of the main heroines on them..

      jgzinv
      Member
      Yayoi isn’t a main heroine… she’s a plot device.

      Besides she had her own VHS and JP DVD cover, is on the US DVD box and Jap LDs.

      mitsuki lover wrote:

      I was wondering because the three other covers had the other three girls on them,and then four has for some odd reason

      Kazuki.I know he’s the hero of the series,but still when three of the covers have three of the main heroines on them..

      Are any of the guys in these shows really the ” hero ” ? 😆

      Not unless it’s Gundam Seed and they happen to be named Kira.

      mitsuki lover wrote:

      Not unless it’s Gundam Seed and they happen to be named Kira.

      😆

      To get back on subject,even the best looking bootlegs will have some noticeable difference from the ‘legit’ version.

      For example I was lurking around Animenation forum and one of their members had pics of some anime they had

      bought at a pawn shop.Among the dvds were the two sets of Buso Renkin.

      At first they looked legit,but then I took a look at my own copies and they didn’t have the red SJ in the upper left

      hand corners the ones in the photo did.Instead there was a small Shonen Jump in the center.

      Also the poster said that the entire set of dvds,including the two Buso Renkin boxsets only cost them $60.

      Pawn Shops being what they are it be easy to get fooled into buying a bootleg without knowing what you’re looking for.

      (Not every pawn shop owner is like the guys on Pawn Stars)

      mitsuki lover wrote:

      To get back on subject,even the best looking bootlegs will have some noticeable difference from the ‘legit’ version.

      For example I was lurking around Animenation forum and one of their members had pics of some anime they had

      bought at a pawn shop.Among the dvds were the two sets of Buso Renkin.

      At first they looked legit,but then I took a look at my own copies and they didn’t have the red SJ in the upper left

      hand corners the ones in the photo did.Instead there was a small Shonen Jump in the center.

      Also the poster said that the entire set of dvds,including the two Buso Renkin boxsets only cost them $60.

      Pawn Shops being what they are it be easy to get fooled into buying a bootleg without knowing what you’re looking for.

      (Not every pawn shop owner is like the guys on Pawn Stars)

      Many people don’t know how to tell the difference at all..or that there is a difference..I got tricked a few times when I was starting out…not just on dvds either.

      That’s true..Rick and the gang know their stuff.. ;)

      I think though that a lot of other pawn dealers just either don’t have the time or simply don’t care about the quality

      of what gets brought in to them,which is why there should always be a caveat about buying anything,wheter anime

      or something else from a regular pawn shop.Not that they try to cheat on you,although there are some out there that

      do.

      Yes,Rick and company do a lot of research and they have their experts like the guy from Clark co. Historical Society to

      back them up.

      Any ways,I think threads like this are helpful in educating people about what to look for so they don’t get cheated when

      it comes to bootlegs.Though I’m surprised the way some people who don’t like fansubs will easily admit to owning bootlegs.

      To me bootlegs actually hurt the anime industry more than fansubs because the people who are bootlegging are out for

      money.

      Anonymous
      Guest

      mitsuki lover wrote:


      Any ways,I think threads like this are helpful in educating people about what to look for so they don’t get cheated when

      it comes to bootlegs.Though I’m surprised the way some people who don’t like fansubs will easily admit to owning bootlegs.

      To me bootlegs actually hurt the anime industry more than fansubs because the people who are bootlegging are out for

      money.

      ^^

      This, Fansubs =/= Theft, However when someone bootlegs something, and someone like you or me buys it, that is money that WOULD have gone to the sale of legit goods and is now lost, which is 100x more detrimental to our industry. However bootlegs now a days are considerably harder to find, so its much harder to be conned out of your money for them if you do your homework, sometimes you get good deals, but if you don’t see any official markings or its really just too good to be true, I’d be extremely wary.

      crazypackersfan
      Participant
      I have the Tenchi Universe bootleg… I feel so stupid now. That was when I first got back into anime, and I just wanted the cheapest version I could buy. Now I hate seeing that ripoff sitting in my collection.
      wwwwhhhhoooo
      Moderator
      none

      mitsuki lover wrote:

      Not every pawn shop owner is like the guys on Pawn Stars

      rofl I can see the episode now, it would start off as every potential sale always does:

      Rick: “How can I help you today?”

      Customer: “I’m looking to sell my… complete set of Tenchi Muyo dvds. The set includes all oav’s & universe series.”

      Rick (to camera): “I really want these in my collection, but it sounds a little too good to be true. I gotta’ know if they’re the real deal.”

      Rick (to customer): “Let me call a buddy of mine, he’s an expert when it comes to this kinda’ stuff…”

      *moments later, cut to parking lot

      to camera: “Hello, I’m Dagon123, & I’m the creator, owner and administrator of Tenchiforum.com”

      😆

      Anonymous
      Guest

      wwwwhhhhoooo wrote:

      mitsuki lover wrote:

      Not every pawn shop owner is like the guys on Pawn Stars

      rofl I can see the episode now, it would start off as every potential sale always does:

      Rick: “How can I help you today?”

      Customer: “I’m looking to sell my… complete set of Tenchi Muyo dvds. The set includes all oav’s & universe series.”

      Rick (to camera): “I really want these in my collection, but it sounds a little too good to be true. I gotta’ know if they’re the real deal.”

      Rick (to customer): “Let me call a buddy of mine, he’s an expert when it comes to this kinda’ stuff…”

      *moments later, cut to parking lot

      to camera: “Hello, I’m Dagon123, & I’m the creator, owner and administrator of Tenchiforum.com

      😆

      :Cheeks: Oh who, lol that made my day

      jgzinv
      Member
      If it were Dual…

      Rick (to camera): “I really want these in my collection, but it sounds a little too good to be true. I gotta’ know if they’re the real deal.”

      Rick (to customer): “Let me call a buddy of mine, he’s an expert when it comes to this kinda’ stuff…”

      *moments later, cut to back room*

      to camera: “Hey I’m not sure Rick, let me get ahold of a guy I know.”

      from phone: “Mochi mochi, this is JGZinv, how can I help you?* “Sorry must have the wrong number”

      “let me try another”

      from phone: “Hey this is Jay” “Sorry wrong number”

      Well there’s only one other person out there.

      from phone: “Hey this is Jinbu” “Sorry wrong number”

      “You know this is the third time you’ve called me right?”

      … … …

      “So like we were saying these are authentic Dual collectibles worth a fortune…”

      😆

      Seriously how do we know that Rick and Co. DON’T know a few well connected otakus?

      Hahahahah ! That would be GREAT ! 😆 :D
      wwwwhhhhoooo
      Moderator
      none
      lol 😆

      & ur probably right mitsukilover, those guys seem to ‘know a guy’ for every occassion…

      A bit more on topic with regards to the dangers of bootlegging, may I ask crazypackers fan, if your bootlegged copy of Universe looked like any of the pictures we already have in place (on the first page of this thread)? & do you still have those dvds? If you still have them & especially if they looked any different from any of the pics of examples of bootlegged dvds, posting a pic or two of said dvd’s could really help other potential buyers know what else to look for to avoid.

      Entirely up to you though, don’t feel like you have to. After all, the best rule of thumb is to carefully study the originals–doesn’t matter entirely how they’re different, just that they are different where it counts.

      Just be careful where you look though,and be sure to compare the prices so you can get the best deal possible.
      Judas Zala
      Participant
      As for the Tenchi Muyo CDs, I have the original Pioneer CDs that I bought on eBay years ago.

      A notice: if it’s released by Son May or Ever Anime, then it’s a bootleg.

      I don’t think I’ve seen those companies mentioned before.Unless they happen to be one or other of those bootleg

      companies under a different name that you find on lists of bootlegs.

      jgzinv
      Member
      You buy through legit channels ML.. all the time… you’re not exposed to it as much as some of us…
      The only time I haven’t was when I bought my fansubs,but since I bought them from the same person all the time

      there wasn’t any problem in that regards.

      Back when you could still buy fansubs on the internet.

      bkev
      Member
      I have to admit I don’t regret my bootleg sets. I bought them 7 or so years ago (wow!) and they look great on my shelf. It’s such a shame that the packaging is SO nice (engrish aside) but that the discs are so cheaply made… the layer breaks on some of them are so bad I have DVD players that won’t make the transfer and send me back to the menu! At least they are dual-layer. Apparently a lot aren’t.

      There’s a TU bootleg in the style of the one labeled “NEW Tenchi” that I have that isn’t shown here. I’ll try and find a picture.

      Given the choice I’d buy the real deal now, of course. But hey – not letting go of my autographed sets anytime soon.

      Anonymous
      Guest

      bkev wrote:


      There’s a TU bootleg in the style of the one labeled “NEW Tenchi” that I have that isn’t shown here. I’ll try and find a picture.

      You mean this? (Which was pictured at the very bottom)

      http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q262/Dagon123/E0102.jpg" />

      Of course this could be one volume of it, but I doubt the bootleggers would waste time on single sets, lol

      bkev
      Member
      Well despite the art used on the front, that’s actually a set for Tenchi in Tokyo. They must have taken the “shin” to mean that. There’s another one with a similar case for Tenchi Universe, only it’s a darker blue and… I think uses OVA art. Damn pirates!
      Anonymous
      Guest
      A bootleg I found on eBay a little while ago, other than it not even attempting to look like the original versions (and also being VCD which…yea, lol), I actually really love the way they designed the cover, lol

      http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q262/Dagon123/TenchiVCD1_zps07e407a5.png" />

      http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q262/Dagon123/TenchiVCD2_zps41f6d898.png" />

      http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q262/Dagon123/TenchiVCD3_zpsf88681a4.png" />

      http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q262/Dagon123/TenchiVCD4_zpsbc3a8053.png" />

      Did japan ever release a box set that contained all the series together?

      Dagon123 wrote:

      A bootleg I found on eBay a little while ago, other than it not even attempting to look like the original versions (and also being VCD which…yea, lol), I actually really love the way they designed the cover, lol

      http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q262/Dagon123/TenchiVCD1_zps07e407a5.png" />

      http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q262/Dagon123/TenchiVCD2_zps41f6d898.png" />

      http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q262/Dagon123/TenchiVCD3_zpsf88681a4.png" />

      http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q262/Dagon123/TenchiVCD4_zpsbc3a8053.png" />

      So what exactly is a VCD?

      Anonymous
      Guest

      The_evil_Genius wrote:

      Did japan ever release a box set that contained all the series together?

      They did (at least the original saga), It was released as the “10th Anniversary Set”

      Tenchi Muyo 10th Anniversary DVD Box Set (R2) (Hyb) Limited Import – RightStuf

      mitsuki lover wrote:


      So what exactly is a VCD?

      It’s literally what it sounds like, a “Video CD”, so think DVD, except on a CD and with a 700mb limit, hence why there were 7 CDs, lol

      Despite it widely being used by pirates and never catching on in the US due to it’s own format restrictions, VCD is a legitimate video medium

      This however, was very much a bootleg

      Anonymous
      Guest
      Found a new Tenchi Universe Bootleg the other day while browsing ebay (never ceases to amaze me I’m STILL finding new bootlegs of Tenchi to this day)

      http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q262/Dagon123/UniverseBootlegfront_zpsb950f895.png" />

      http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q262/Dagon123/universebootleginside_zps44ea8940.png" />

      http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q262/Dagon123/universebootlegoutside_zpsc9d7aab4.png" />

      http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q262/Dagon123/universebootlegoutsideinfo_zps944cbf47.png" />

      It’s cute how they try and post the barcode in the listing to make it seem legit, when clearly the black bolded text is a design no-no and I’ve never heard of a MEPG before, lol

      It’s obviously from either Hong Kong or Taiwan so whoever created the cover must not be too familiar with the

      English language.

      Wild guess you found it on Ebay right?

      Anonymous
      Guest

      mitsuki lover wrote:


      Wild guess you found it on Ebay right?

      Dagon123 wrote:

      Found a new Tenchi Universe Bootleg the other day while browsing ebay (never ceases to amaze me I’m STILL finding new bootlegs of Tenchi to this day)

      http://www.ebay.com/itm/201101819942?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

      Dagon123 wrote:

      mitsuki lover wrote:


      Wild guess you found it on Ebay right?

      Dagon123 wrote:

      Found a new Tenchi Universe Bootleg the other day while browsing ebay (never ceases to amaze me I’m STILL finding new bootlegs of Tenchi to this day)

      http://www.ebay.com/itm/201101819942?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

      REALLY loving the effort these guys are putting into their pirated work, INCLUDING the disclaimer about pirating on the back. The irony…

      sery242
      Participant
      Hey there everyone, I’m not exactly sure if this is the right place to ask about this or not but it was worth the chance to register to ask. I’ve got this dvd, which I’m fairly certain is a bootleg of sorts. Let me give some backstory on it first on it. I purchased this back in 2000 off of ebay (this wasn’t long after the series started airing here in the and as a kid and fan of the series I jumped at the opportunity to get something that was weird and unique lol. There wasn’t much of a description for it, and I certainly didn’t (and still don’t) read Japanese so I took a gamble. What I ended up with was a dvd that as far as I can tell is pretty well made but that doesn’t say much lol. I just wanted to know if anyone could give me some information on the content of it or if it’s got any value as a collectible beyond what I paid for it (that I really couldn’t tell you it’s been a long time ago) I took some pictures and a few snap shots of the dvd and everything so any information would be great to know. I’ve been trying to find out about this for a few years and then I totally forgot about it. Moving and everything it got packed up and long since forgotten about, so I figured what better place to ask than a Tenchi Muyo forum.

      Front Cover

      http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag56/sery242/Tenchi/IM000584_zpsf01ebb56.jpg" />

      Back Cover

      http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag56/sery242/Tenchi/IM000585_zps6a0a75b1.jpg" />

      Insert

      http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag56/sery242/Tenchi/IM000588_zps3ab575ea.jpg" />

      Disc Cover

      http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag56/sery242/Tenchi/IM000587_zpsb9a6751e.jpg" />

      Main Menu

      http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag56/sery242/snapshot_dvd_0000_20140621_175227_zpsb147353d.jpg" />

      and two samples

      http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag56/sery242/Tenchi/snapshot_dvd_0358_20140621_175656_zps983e80ea.jpg" />

      http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag56/sery242/Tenchi/snapshot_dvd_0801_20140621_175801_zps1ebdfdaa.jpg" />

      Any info would be really appreciated for sure and if this is the wrong place for a post sorry

      jgzinv
      Member
      Yeah it’s a bootleg, the big SM is for Son May which is a pretty well known bootleg publisher.

      The ayeka sample we might be able to translate, but we’d have to have better scans of the others to

      do anything with it. Sort of looks like they hybrid’d a couple different discs together.

      sery242
      Participant
      Yeah I know it’s a bootleg and wasn’t arguing that fact lol. I can probably scan the cover at some point, but the information on the back is exactly the same as the shot of the menu of the dvd. From what I can tell from the while I’ve had it, the thing that comes closes to a description is this

      “Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki Sound File” but again I’m not versed enough to know for certain. Thanks for the response though lol, I’ve just had this for so long I’m just curious to finally figure it out

      Anonymous
      Guest

      sery242 wrote:

      Yeah I know it’s a bootleg and wasn’t arguing that fact lol. I can probably scan the cover at some point, but the information on the back is exactly the same as the shot of the menu of the dvd. From what I can tell from the while I’ve had it, the thing that comes closes to a description is this

      “Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki Sound File” but again I’m not versed enough to know for certain. Thanks for the response though lol, I’ve just had this for so long I’m just curious to finally figure it out

      It is very much a bootleg, BUT it is an interesting bootleg in that I don’t think I’ve EVER seen a SonMay Bootleg that is entirely in Japanese before (with the exception of the soundfile name on the disc).

      As far as price collectibility, that’s hard to say, I never thought we’d get to a point where the bootlegs would get as collectible as the real McCoys until I got bid sniped on a rare Tokyo bootleg so, lol

      Thanks for sharing this! The sheer amount of Tenchi bootlegs is astonishing really.

      sery242
      Participant
      No problem! It’s just a really odd thing is all. I know I posted a link of what I think it might be ^ in my above posting, but the odd thing is compared to what is listed there it’s identical expect for the last two episodes of the disk. Where the link describing the actual “Sound File” says it should be a clip show describing the production of Season 2 of the OVA, it isn’t. It’s two live concert footage shots (i’ll put them below). I can’t place the first song for certain, but the second is the ending theme of Tenchi Universe so it’s really oddly dated for a dvd containing mostly music videos for the first half of the ova.

      Screens from the first concert video

      This is one that has what the track they’re performing is:

      http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag56/sery242/snapshot_dvd_2602_20140621_213655_zps59003ccd.jpg" />

      And this is the best shot I could get of both performers:

      http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag56/sery242/snapshot_dvd_2700_20140621_213729_zps44702dcc.jpg" />

      I’d be willing to guess that’s Chisa Yokoyama and i don’t know who.

      And here’s the second concert video screen cap

      http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag56/sery242/snapshot_dvd_3027_20140621_213747_zpsbeb05147.jpg" />

      That appears to be Ai Orikasa and Yumi Takada I think.. I’m not entirely sure. I could be entirely wrong with my assumptions but that’s a fair guess on my part.

      As far as value goes, I mean I could be entirely wrong and it could be utterly worthless but with how things go now a days it’s funny. I’ve seen people pay way more than reasonable for something like a toy knock off because it was just different and they had to have it for a collection.

      GregTheLion
      Member
      Alright guys, here’s the thing. I wanna buy a TM OST off ebay. The only trouble is I don’t know which one’s are authentic.

      http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTcwWDE3MA==/z/4U8AAOSwpDdU37RZ/$_12.JPG" />

      http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NjQ4WDY0OA==/z/FtMAAOSwAHZUOXar/$_12.JPG" />

      I checked the internet on both of them, and they have decently analyzed playlists. Can anybody help me out with this?

      WisperG
      Member
      The one on the bottom is definitely legit. I’ve seen it before. Geneon released it themselves in the US.

      http://www.amazon.com/Tenchi-Muyo-Various-Artists/dp/B00008BRD9

      Nobuyuki
      Participant
      Considering the Pioneer logo on the first one, it’s also legit.
      Yukinojo
      Participant
      none
      Looking on the tenchi muyo 20th anniversary twitter and found this

      https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CDKoxjFWYAEEqVV.jpg:large" />

      Pretty sure it’s a bootleg since it uses this picture

      https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/40/56/fe/4056fe1c2b9e0656f5d979ec4b9d993f.jpg" />

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